President Trump has been strangely reluctant to remove Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) director Richard Cordray, but his own Treasury Department has made an excellent case for dismissal, according to a Wall Street Journal editorial today. Last week Treasury issued a report with recommendations to increase certainty, consumer choice and access to credit in the financial system. Some of Treasury’s recommendations would require legislation — such as making the agency subject to congressional appropriations — though most could be achieved through regulatory and procedural changes by the CFPB. The problem is that Cordray won’t accept curbs on his power, according to the editorial. Dodd-Frank states that the President may remove the director only for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office” rather than at-will like other agency heads.
